Do we have Gary Neville to thank/blame ??

No-one seemed to be much interested in the South Coast Revolution, including Roy Hodgson, until he started talking us up.

I assume he did it with Roy too.

No-one seemed to be much interested in the South Coast Revolution, including Roy Hodgson, until he started talking us up.

 

I assume he did it with Roy too.

Roy tried to sign Lallana for Fulham when we went into League 1 so I think it's safe to say that he would have been aware of our other players too.

Roy tried to sign Lallana for Fulham when we went into League 1 so I think it's safe to say that he would have been aware of our other players too.

Think Roy was also interested in Jrod when he was managing Fulham.

No-one seemed to be much interested in the South Coast Revolution, including Roy Hodgson, until he started talking us up.

 

I assume he did it with Roy too.

No I think we can blame the Manager, players, support team etc. for being so brilliant this season. But well worth another whinging thread Alps, good work.

I don't think you can blame people for praising our players for playing well... Why not go the whole hog and blame Pochettino for making them play well in the first place?

OR we could just blame Cortese. Seems to be popular at the moment.

No-one seemed to be much interested in the South Coast Revolution, including Roy Hodgson, until he started talking us up.

 

I assume he did it with Roy too.

We were talking about TSW on the way home yesterday evening and were highlighting the fact that nearly every thread on this forum descends into negativity either between posters or about the club and its players.

We have to be realistic that the better our team does, then the big clubs will look at our players and make bids for them. Very few players will ever see playing for Southampton and coming 8th in the PL as the pinnacle of their career. The days of the Matt Le Tiss one man club are long gone.

Of course Lallana will want to play in the Champions League against the best players in Europe, of course he will want to win things because he's unlikely to at Saints, and that goes for every single player with ambition. If any of our top players are sold this close season then I wish them well, they've given a lot of pleasure this last season in particular. If clubs cherry pick our players, then naturally we will cherry pick players from smaller or less successful clubs than our own.

The board has big decisions to make, we are 27 million in debt thanks to Cortese's generosity with the Liebherr estate, so they have to weigh up what is best for our club and the players in question

There is no blame to be attached, its just the natural evolution of the PL and whatever happens now, is happening because we've done well for a club of our size

27m is a drop in ocean for a 100m Turnover PA company with many times that figure in assets....We used to have a mortgage higher than that on a whole lot less turnover and were considered one of the most financially stable clubs in country.

Hell it's even less than the cost of our training facilities which are essential in helping to secure our future turnover.

Seems the Club's PR machine has done a job on some.

27m is a drop in ocean for a 100m Turnover PA company with many times that figure in assets....We used to have a mortgage higher than that on a whole lot less turnover and were considered one of the most financially stable clubs in country.

 

Hell it's even less than the cost of our training facilities which are essential in helping to secure our future turnover.

 

Seems the Club's PR machine has done a job on some.

Not at all, it's just that the money has to be repaid and a lot of it has to be repaid soon because NC didn't stagger payments etc. I know there are bigger clubs than us much worse in debt.

However the point I was trying to make was that if an offer comes in for a player, the club has to weigh up what is best for club and for the player. If there was no debt they could tell the buyer to get stuffed, but there is, so it must be a consideration.

No-one seemed to be much interested in the South Coast Revolution, including Roy Hodgson, until he started talking us up.

 

I assume he did it with Roy too.

Yes. That's totally what happened.

Of course it's a consideration.....My point was the fact that you and several others are pointing to the sustainable investment during the Cortese era as a bad thing....Your post was dripping with sarcasm.....When if fact during his time here he strengthened our foundations with a state of the art training facility, put back on the world stage and increased out turnover and future ROI 4 fold.

Hell...Just getting to the prem one year later than we did makes that 27m look chicken feed.

Gary Neville has been a revelation since he started broadcasting. Maybe he is just the football punditry equivalent of SuBo. e.g. We never knew he had it in him. True to an extent, but also irrelevant.

Unless he starts talking utter shíte, people will continue to listen to Gary Neville. Don't be under any illusions though; it's not like Saints are his new favourite team - he just has respect for what the setup has achieved down here and the players we've produced. Up to the club to ensure we continue to get the plaudits.

Of course it's a consideration.....My point was the fact that you and several others are pointing to the sustainable investment during the Cortese era as a bad thing....Your post was dripping with sarcasm.....When if fact during his time here he strengthened our foundations with a state of the art training facility, put back on the world stage and increased out turnover and future ROI 4 fold.

 

Hell...Just getting to the prem one year later than we did makes that 27m look chicken feed.

I think we are getting somewhat off topic here, but the fact that the recent statement about the future of the club used the very word 'sustainable' shows that under Cortese our spending was anything but sustainable.

What Cortese did in building the club was brilliant, there's no escaping that, but he is not above reproach.